India Inc's investment spirit is down. A majority of leading CEOs expect domestic investments and money infusion abroad by Indian companies to grow by less than 10 per cent or to decline during 2012, in view of the current economic slowdown.
The Business Confidence Index formulated by NCAER stood at a seven-year low of 91.4 points in January 2009, plummeting 41 per cent compared to a year ago period. On a quarterly basis, the index lost 24 per cent compared to October 2008. 'This (BCI) is the lowest since January 2002,' the NCAER said in its quarterly review of the business expectations survey. It said the slowdown in the markets appears to be a leading factor in influencing the fall in business expectations.
The net profit of 82 firms up 20.2%, but topline growth slows to 14.7% on muted show by manufacturing firms.
A survey of CEOs shows corporate India is unsure about the party's ideology, with some feeling its left-of-the-centre politics can be detrimental in the long run.
India Inc (excluding trading and financial services companies) was sitting on a cash mountain of Rs 456,700 crore (Rs 4,567 billion) as on September 30, up 21 per cent from the same time a year before.
The slowdown is showing on the balance-sheet. During the quarter ended March 2008, India Inc reported the lowest net profit growth in the last nine quarters, after the state-owned oil marketing and power companies declared poor results.
India Inc has suffered a massive loss of over Rs 43,000 crore (Rs 430 billion), in the recently concluded financial year due to non-availability and mismanagement of power, a study says.
Stocks such as NIIT, Punj Lloyd, Gati, Welspun India and BEML are favourites of the trading community.
Volatility in local share markets have hit India Inc's equity fund-raising plans, with the total deal value this year set to fall below the level seen in 2008.
The earnings are, however, expected to be down around 2 per cent on a sequential basis due to pent-up demand getting exhausted and the adverse impact of rising metals and energy prices on consumer goods and manufacturing companies.
The database of 194 companies has shown a revenue contraction of 2.6%.
Most expect a 25 bps rate hike today, but want pause.
Industry sources told India Abroad they wouldn't shed any tears if the legislation died in the House.
Industry chamber Ficci said, Japan as a nation would overcome the calamity to reassure its place in the comity of most prominent economies of the world.
India Inc has lost all the gains of the current fiscal in its market value with a depreciation of close to Rs 2 trillion (about $50 billion) on Monday amid a fall of over 500 points in the benchmark Sensex in less than six hours of the day's trading.
CEOs have complained that high interest rates have blocked their investment decisions. At the same time, customers are also deferring their purchases for new consumer durables, cars, and homes.
Declining value of the rupee, widening Current Account Deficit (CAD) and the impact of likely tapering of US bond purchases are some of the key issues which will keep Raghuram Rajan busy.
Indian companies raised over $3.41 billion overseas in December through external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said.
In the backdrop of cement players refusing to cut prices, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday asked India Inc to look beyond their balance-sheets and play a role in helping the government ensure macro economic stability.
"A committee is working on it. We have also asked the MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) to broaden the scope of section 55 of Companies Act 1956 which is now clause 22 of Companies Bill," SEBI Executive Director Usha Narayanan said at an Assocham event in New Delhi.
Stocks of Indian companies with exposure to Europe fell on Tuesday amid concerns about the impact on their sales in case the Russia-Ukraine crisis worsens and the US and its allies impose economic sanctions on Russia. While top conglomerates, including Reliance Industries, the Tata group, and Aditya Birla Group, said they did not have any significant exposure to Russia, executives of some of the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and tea companies said they were monitoring the situation closely as they earned substantial income from the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine after announcing that Russia would recognise their independence.
"We created a sense of a team, not individuals. We designed team measurable and not individual measurable. At the end of the day, we created a happy environment," said Gary Kirsten, coach of the World Cup-winning Indian cricket team.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram announced the Union Budget 2013-14 in Parliament on Thursday.
India Inc's hiring activity witnessed a marginal decline in the month of April, owing to the ongoing appraisal season, but overall industries are upbeat about their hiring sentiment and 2011 is expected to be a landmark year for job creation, job portal Naukri.Com says.
Coal, land, insurance bills are cited as govt's commitment to reforms.
The first such interaction would be in Mumbai on Monday.
India Inc on Tuesday welcomed the 0.25 per cent interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank saying it would help revive confidence of industry and hoped for further cuts in the coming days.
India Inc's order-books swelled to Rs 37,666 crore (Rs 376.66 billion) in the first quarter of the financial year 2008-2009, up 93 per cent from Rs 19,520 crore (Rs 195.2 billion) for the same period last year. In the fourth quarter of 2007-08, the order-book had increased by 121 per cent to Rs 42,545 crore
A survey showed as much as 95 per cent of CEOs and MDs were against Sebi's mandatory guidelines the company's to declare their quarterly performance, Assocham said in a statement.
With the exception of infra, IT & ITes - the employment outlook seems flat across sectors.
Even the best of government policies rarely satisfy the corporate sector. So, it is perhaps surprising that the year 2006 saw a scheme over which all business houses -- big and small alike -- were falling head over heels.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked private sector companies to clear dues to small businesses within 45 days and admitted that the central departments and enterprises are also not making payments to them on time. She conceded that the Centre, states and state-owned enterprises too have outstanding dues to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The minister said that at a meeting with big businesses here two days ago, she had appealed to them to ensure that the dues of small businesses, who are the backbone of the economy, are cleared on time.
Industry houses are emphatic with the RBI pruning repo rate and CRR by 0.25 per cent each after a long nine months in its third quarter monetary policy review.
Corporate India has high hopes from the upcoming Budget.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances